Wednesday, July 14, 2010

No permission slips for deadly field trip, investigators find | GothamSchools

No permission slips for deadly field trip, investigators find | GothamSchools

No permission slips for deadly field trip, investigators find

Nicole Suriel and her classmates did not have permission slips for the field trip that ended in the 12-year-old student’s death, according to a report released today by the school system’s investigator.
Investigators compiled a detailed narrative of the June 22 field trip to an unpatrolled Long Island beach taken by Suriel’s sixth grade class at the Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering. They interviewed the school’s principal, Jose Maldonado-Rivera, as well as the assistant principal, local government and law enforcement officials, eight students on the trip and a college intern who chaperoned. The full report is below.
Parents had signed “universal” permission slips for short field trips nearby the school and for swimming in the school’s pool, and the school’s assistant principal emailed parents about the trip to the beach the day before.
But there was no specific permission form given for the trip to Long Island, investigators found. And the teacher